Preacher shot in Cuero

CUERO - Two men of the cloth were involved in an un-Christian like dispute Thursday, resulting in the wounding of one pastor and the arrest of the other.

The Rev. Mark Stewart, 49 of Corpus Christi, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence, according to a news release from the Cuero Police Department.

He posted bail totaling $75,000 on Friday and was released from the DeWitt County Detention Center.

He is the pastor of Rising Star Baptist Church in Corpus Christi.

The Rev. John Jackson, 59, pastor of Mt. Bethel Baptist Church in Cuero, was shot in the side and taken by ambulance to to the Cuero airport then transported by helicopter to a Corpus Christi hospital. He was in stable condition at the time, according to the news release.

Cuero Police received a call of shots fired about noon Thursday from the 900 block of Staerker Street. Police found the wounded Jackson walking, and he pointed police in the direction of Stewart, who was in a pickup around the corner, according to the news release.

Investigators say the shooting began as a contract dispute between the two men. The verbal argument became physical and led to the shooting, according to the news release.

Officers located two handguns in an adjacent field, one that is believed to be the weapon used in the shooting, according to the news release. A person with Stewart was not detained.